Byron Buxton joins exclusive club in Twins history with 100 home runs, 100 stolen bases

CLEVELAND – Byron Buxton has hit 139 home runs in his career, 15th-most in Twins history. With his sixth-inning steal of second base Wednesday, he now has 100 stolen bases in his career, which ranks eighth in Twins history.

But triple digits in both categories? That’s only been done three times, each by a center fielder.

“Just being in a group with those two top center fielders that put on this uniform — it’s special,” Buxton said after joining Kirby Puckett (207 homers, 134 steals) and Torii Hunter (214 and 128) in that elite club. “It’s hard to put into words. I’m blessed.”

Buxton even owns a distinction that Puckett and Hunter cannot claim: The highest stolen base success rate in major league history. Buxton has been thrown out only 12 times in his career, meaning he has been safe 89.3% of the time, best ever among players with at least 100 steals. (Cubs outfielder Kyle Tucker’s 88.7% success rate is a close second, with 102 steals and only 13 outs.)

The 31-year-old Buxton, 7-for-7 this season, said he was unaware of his feat until teammate DaShawn Keirsey Jr. congratulated him for achieving it.

Now he has a new goal: To steal third base, something he has attempted only once, unsuccessfully, in 2016.

“I might get one this year,” Buxton said with a smile. “I might.”

Keirsey has started only seven games for the Twins this year, but he’s hoping No. 8 comes this weekend in Boston. He’s been studying the mechanics of playing left field at Fenway Park.

“I haven’t played there, but you have to think about it ahead of time,” the rookie outfielder said of Fenway’s famous Green Monster. “You have to play in a lot more than anywhere else. If you have to back up at all, it’s probably off the wall, so you play the [carom]. It’s tricky.”

Keirsey is taking his corner-outfield education seriously, since he has played center field during more than four-fifths of his pro career.

“It’s somewhat new to me, but I love the challenge of it. You battle different things in the corners. The reads are a little tougher,” Keirsey said. “In the corners, you have a little less room for error. You have balls that are lower, with more topspin, and you’ve got to deal with the wall in the corner.”

Keirsey made a diving catch during Wednesday’s game to rob Kyle Manzardo of an RBI hit, a play that he wasn’t sure right away he could make.

“I was getting close to the wall [in foul territory], so I was kind of battling that,” Keirsey said. “Obviously as you get closer, you’re less sure you can dive.”

But he did, and made the play as he slid on his stomach.

“He’s doing great. He looks very much comfortable enough,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “It’s very different from just running down balls like a cheetah in center field, it’s about your jumps and your reads. Your first 3-5 steps dictate whether you’re going to make the play. He’s adapting very well.”

Ryan Jeffers, in complaining that Pablo López and Brock Stewart were deprived of a few important called strikes during Wednesday’s loss, maintained that this year’s strike zone is smaller than it’s ever been.

Baldelli agreed with his catcher on Thursday, but said he believes it’s simple evolution, similar to the way pitching itself has changed over the past decade.

“The umpires, just like all of the players, are just getting more precise with what they’re doing. They have more information, too, just like all the players do,” Baldelli said. “The pitchers have ways of gauging how they’ve been doing and assessing themselves and trying to get better. I think the umpires are doing the same exact thing.”

Cory Lewis gave up four runs on seven hits and three walks in four innings as the Saints lost 5-2 at Columbus in what was supposed to be Game 1 of a doubleheader.

The second game was rained out, the eighth time this season they have had a rainout. The teams will attempt a doubleheader again Friday.